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 ‘An enduring and undervalued treasure’ - Classic Rock |
| 'There are a million bands who kick ass, but just a few, like Marillion,
who really move people' - Kerrang |
| 'The best-kept secret in the music industry' - Sound on Sound |
| 'Highly dramatic, emotional, dynamic stuff' - The Guardian |
| 'Superb' - The Times |
| 'Some tracks chime and soar like Coldplay. Others are just a post-rock whimper away from Radiohead... Marillion deserve a fair hearing" - Uncut |
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Marillion are one of the UK music scene’s best kept secrets; purveyors of soulful, powerful, and often deeply-moving music, with a long-standing reputation for blistering live shows which have earned them an impressive and faithful global fanbase.
Steve "h" Hogarth fronts the band (original lead-singer, "Fish", having departed in 1988) and brought a new heart and energy to the band when arriving in 1989 and becoming lead-vocal/lyricist.
Predictions of doom were swiftly dispelled, as across a further TWELVE albums, Hogarth – along with existing members Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass), and Ian Mosley (drums) – reinvigorated and constantly redefined Marillion’s sound. They forged into new musical territories with a succession of inventive, emotional albums, displaying little regard to the vagaries of the musical "Fashion Police", or radio playlists. The line-up remains unchanged to this day. |
After the release of 1999’s ‘marillion.com’ the band banished the spectre of record company pressure once and for all by launching their own record label (the aptly-named Intact imprint) and freeing themselves up to produce some of the finest music of their career.
Thanks to their much lauded (and much copied) pioneering Internet-based rock n'roll business model, Marillion have developed a unique and intimate relationship with their fans. From sponsoring entire tours of the USA to funding the recording of recent albums, Marillion’s global fan-base is unique in its affection and dedication.
As a result, such passionate, wholesale support has allowed Marillion to step outside of the conventional music industry and find their own path. |
In 2001 ‘Anoraknophobia’ saw Marillion take the groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album 12 months before release. An amazing 12,000 people signed up, helping to finance the recording. The band once again took pre-orders for the 2004 masterpiece ‘Marbles,’ but this time the money was channelled into a campaign fund to promote its launch.
When singles ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’ and ‘You’re Gone‘ breached the UK top 20 – the latter making it all the way to number 7 – jaws dropped right across the music world.
Not bad going for a band without major label backing.
But it was merely the latest twist in the history of a group who have held on to the conviction that what they’re doing MEANS something more than entertainment or selling records.
The band has evolved into a vibrant musical force – to those who already love Marillion, they’re something special; to everyone else they’re a love affair waiting to happen.
During 2011 the band will be continuing the writing and recording of the new (yet to be titled) 17th studio album and performing a string of Christmas gigs in Germany, Holland and the UK. |
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